10/30/2012

Another person you might see moving in next door if we pass Proposition 36, the proposition to gut Three Strikes:

LUPE ESCOBEDO

Escobedo was been convicted of 17 robberies he committed in 1986 and 1987. Fifteen of those robberies were accomplished while he was armed with either a handgun or a knife. During several of these robberies Escobedo and his accomplices threatened to kill the grocery store employees he was robbing. Escobedo was sentenced to prison for these robberies; but his life of crime continued after his release, with convictions for resisting an officer, possession of controlled substances, and driving under the influence.

Prior to his commitment offense, Escobedo was arrested for felony child abuse. He was released pending further investigation. Next, he was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, but his 17 priors were undiscovered. Escobedo was released on his own recognizance and failed to appear. Thus he was a fugitive when Escobedo was spotted in a stolen vehicle parked in front of a motel. He resisted arrest, fighting and threatening the officers who apprehended him. In his motel room officers found a sawed off shotgun. When Escobedo was informed that his shotgun had been located, he stated: “It’s good that I didn’t make it back to the room. … I’m going to be doing 150 years, what difference would it be to take out a cop.”

Escobedo was convicted of a felony failure to appear, receiving stolen property, and resisting or delaying an officer. Based on his numerous strike priors for robbery, he was sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison.

If Escobedo were re-sentenced pursuant to Proposition 36, his new maximum potential sentence would be no more than seven years and six months in state prison, reduced further by custody credits since it would be a determinate-term sentence.

I do plan to urge a rejection of the measure to kill the death penalty. But there, at least, I believe that people understand the issue, and my “value added” is much smaller.

This Three Strikes proposition is complex and is being misportrayed in the media. I think I have something of substance to add. That said, only one comment in this thread besides mine? Maybe I’m wasting my time. Hard to say for sure.